2013-12-04

12/04/2013
Department of International Affairs - Democratic Progressive Party

On November 23 China announced that it unilaterally established an air defense
identification zone (ADIZ) with rules demanding that all aircraft flying
through this ADIZ notify China; otherwise, China would adopt defense emergency
measures. Since China’s ADIZ overlaps with the ADIZs of Japan, South Korea and
Taiwan, and China did not consult with other nations prior to the announcement,
the affected nations have responded strongly to the Chinese action.U.S.,
Japan and South Korea consider this action as an attempt to unilaterally change
the status quo. Chinese orders for all aircraft flying through its ADIZ are
more demanding than those applied by other nations. While other nations require
aircraft to submit flight plans only when they anticipate entering that
nation's territorial airspace, China demands that all planes file plans whether
they will enter China's territorial airspace or are simply transiting through
the ADIZ parallel to Chinese territory. China’s announcement promptly ratchets
up tension in the region and heightens the risk of military conflicts,
therefore destabilizing regional peace.

Under these circumstances, the priority for Taiwan should be to closely
coordinate with friendly nations and take concerted actions; this was one of
the primary recommendations put forth by DPP during its press conference on
November 25 and the Central Standing Committee meeting on the 27th. However, we
have witnessed the confused and China-leaning nature of the Ma administration’s
national security decision making process, which has placed Taiwan under higher
strategic risks. Inexplicably, when President Ma first spoke on the issue on
December 1st, he asked all related nations to restrain themselves and negotiate
with China on the matter as soon as possible. This suggests an implicit
acceptance of the Chinese stance. It is hard for us to imagine that Taiwan,
which shares close relations with the US-Japan collective defense system, has a
president who edges the country towards China’s position at this moment of
crisis. I must take this opportunity to call for and demand that:

In this ADIZ controversy, we must take account of Taiwan’s
sovereignty and national security and not accept China’s attempt to
unilaterally change the status quo by cutting into Taiwan’s existing ADIZ
and compressing Taiwanese air defense space. We also have to voice our
protest, asking that China retract its decision and demanding that the Ma
administration publicly take the same position as our partners to request
a Chinese withdrawal of its announcement.

Concerning the broader strategic framework for Taiwan, we must
reaffirm Taiwan’s strategic cooperative relations with our partners,
namely the democratic alliance that I have mentioned previously, and not
vacillate or let our partners view us as untrustworthy.

China’s Nov. 23 announcement has elevated the tension in the region.
I ordered the DPP’s legislative caucus to continuously monitor the Ma
administration’s actions and the Party’s Departments of Policy and
International Affairs as well as the Defense Policy Advisory Committee to
pay close attention to developments regarding this matter, including
whether China demarcates an ADIZ in the South China Sea, and to offer
timely response.

I also requested that the Departments of Policy and
International Affairs as well as the Party’s Mission in the US articulate to
the international community the DPP’s position regarding this issue, which is
also that of the majority in Taiwan, and point out that the Ma administration’s
position only represents a minority opinion within Taiwan.